Within the hushed atmosphere of a lounge near London's prestigious dance company, Matthew Ball orders a mint tea. The dancer's carriage is effortlessly straight-backed, his limbs defined beneath a simple white T-shirt. During performances, ballet dancers can seem as mighty deities, yet frequently offstage they are petite. This is not true for Ball, whose tall stature is one reason for his popularity for heroic roles and partnering. With delicate traits and intense eyes, there's a hint of a brooding actor about him.
An Apparent Rise to the Top
At 31, Ball is enjoying the peak of a career that has progressed smoothly. Growing up in Liverpool, he faced minimal teasing for his early passion in ballet. Joining the esteemed training institution at 11, he moved straight into the company and was advanced each year, attaining the top rank of principal in 2018. He has loved taking on substantial dramatic roles, especially the psychological angst found in a famed choreographer's ballets.
"Your lungs are burning, your legs get heavy, but it’s really a mental fatigue."
His next starring appearance is in a talk, in an "In Conversation" event designed to offer behind-the-scenes perspectives into a dancer's art. He will walk the audience through a part, demonstrating his cognitive process while performance. Yet in lighter ballets, the test is profound. "A classic ballet is one of the toughest technically," he notes.
The Psychological Struggle and Post-Performance Emotions
How does he feel following a performance, when he has succeeded? "It's pretty good," he says. "However because I'm trying to squeeze all the emotion out of it, and get lost in the role, quite often I do feel self-conscious afterwards. After Mayerling I'm always like: God, what must people think?"
In person, Ball is thoughtful, polite, and prone to laugh at himself. But a choreographer once observed on a "kind of suffering in him." Is there? "I'm quite active usually, but I do have a dark side," he reveals. "I kind of enjoy pessimism sometimes. I've always felt that doubt has been an instigator for good change."
Early Drivers and Creative Influences
His tenacity originated in youthful experiences. Not excelling in competitions at school made him "vengeful!" This became motivation to demonstrate he could succeed. Reading the book *Mao's Last Dancer* was a "watershed" moment. "It changed everything, it made me go a bit obsessive," he recalls.
The next endeavor is creating his own dance works. For Ball, "organic movement has value." "Breaking the conventions is compelling, but just pretending that they’re not a thing any more – I don’t know how far you can go with that." He aims his work to be loaded with substance, drawing inspiration from literature, music, and art.
Intimate Performance and Personal Partnership
He additionally is interested in presenting dance in smaller venues. "It was just really thrilling," he says of a past experience. "You’re so near to the viewers. I felt as if they were realizing: 'That’s a person, and they’re perspiring.'"
Ball has created pieces with his partner, fellow lead dancer Mayara Magri. The level of trust between them is evident. "We tried it out on the beach first," he says of a audacious lift. "It was like Dirty Dancing." They are not typically matched on stage at their main theater, which is perhaps healthy. "We’re both quite determined people, so it’s not always hunky dory," he notes. "But I feel like we’re each other’s biggest supporter."
On Social Media and Bodily Image
On Instagram, fans can see videos from his projects and images that showcase a athletic form. Does he care that the engagement can be somewhat objectifying? Not really. "The body is just what we use, so I don’t feel very precious about it," he explains. He compares it to seeing Michelangelo’s David—something that can be seen on various ways.
Ball characterizes his younger self as "desperate for success." Did it lived up to his hopes? "I am conscious of how reality is a separate reality to the dreams you made as a young person," he muses. He likely has another decade of performing left. "I guess in the time to come, I want to be a bit more gentle with myself."
